Breaking Through the Next Boundary

So, what is to be the next boundary to break through?

With our first donation in the bank, KNB needs to look for our next boundary to break through & to raise awareness of our foundation to the public at large. What is on the horizon towards which we are moving?

In trying to keep the initial things local so as to gain local recognition as well as local beneficiaries for our services, the concept of running the "boundary" or limits of the City of Tulsa. Of course then we would have to go one mile more to have "broken through" this boundary, right?

The idea of running the Tulsa City Limit was thought about earlier in the summer & it appears to be very doable. As a matter of fact, aside from parts of the city in the North & West parts, there is a high probability that the run would go by & through areas & neighborhoods & by convenience stores (I.e. Gatorade & water are critical). It looks to be APPROXIMATELY 70 miles (although I am probably wrong).

Well, after much prayer & contemplation (not to mention a few discussions with friends & family), the un-official Tulsa City Limit Ultra Marathon will happen. It will also be great training for Mother Road 100 - Part 3 on November 13th / 14th.

I am already driving parts of the course to stake out places for bathroom breaks, water stops & possible remote water stops in the areas less populated.

For those of you who would like to join us, look for more details as it gets closer to the fall & the cooler weather.

Our FIRST Donation

Thanks to the huge generosity of Brian & Kathy Hoover at Runner's World Tulsa, Know No Boundaries received their first big donation.

The check in the amount of $1,150.50 was from a portion of the proceeds from the inaugural 50 Mile Midnight Madness run held the previous week the results of which are already posted.

This first donation was truly earned as I ran the entire 50 miles & despite a hard rain for the last 20 miles, I had a blast. Plenty of great support & many, many good friends both old & new.

With money literally in the bank, Know No Boundaries will be working with local medical equipment suppliers in order to get them to donate a few wheelchairs. These wheelchairs will then be distributed to needy people in town (at first) in order to help them to break free of their boundaries. Often times physical aliments & handicaps tend to cause us to become mentally & emotionally bound to where we limit ourselves without even being consciously aware of it. These wheelchairs will be the catalyst to break these boundaries.

The check was presented following the 2010 Poker Run held at Veteran's Park.

When the chips are down, run (obviously).

Sandra Wright & Dana Childress prepare their "poker faces" before the run with my good friend Ken Childress (aka K1 or Trail Zombie) in the background.

It was a five (5) mile run & we each ended up with (5) cards picked up along the run. "Dealers" were out in places dealing out the needed cards. One place was at Quik Trip Plaza @ 41st & Peoria.

I really wish I knew more about poker.

Ken & Dana ran a bit together. (Hmmm, I wonder if they shared their cards to make a good hand.) They make such a cute couple wouldn't you say?

By the end of the run, I had a nothing hand with only an Ace high. Good thing I am not a betting man.

Kirk fared okay except for a bit of rubbing in the wrong places.

OUCH Kirk. You look like you've been shot! Get this man some Nip Guards.

All in all, the run was a nice recovery run after the 50 miler & it was an awesome blessing to receive the donation.

Now looking on the horizon of what's next . . . . . . .

God Bless;

Ken

One More Broken Boundary - 50 Mile Midnight Madness

Well, the Inaugural 50 Mile Might Madness is now written in the history books. All the necessary steps were taken to be prepared & to ensure success. Everything was laid out in advance.

Ominous weather met all of us prior to the start with heavy rains but we it stopped 15 minutes prior to the start.

The race course consisted of (5) 10 mile loops in alternating direction. Start was at Quik Trip Plaza @ 41st & Riverside Drive looping around to the Turkey Mountain parking lot & back to Quik Trip Plaza. That way, we got to climb & descend the hill up to Turkey Mountain as well as along the 71st Street bridge.

We were off into the dark @ midnight with headlamps lighting our way.

The lights were critical along the west side of the trail & in order to be sure not to miss critical twists & turns.

As the loops added up, the toughness of the race became to show itself. I believe that the saving grace for all of the runners was the overcast skies.

Once it started to get light, many of us were able to see the true beauty of the course as many of the runners had never run the trails & were NOT from Tulsa. Unfortunately when it comes to hills, they seem easier when you cannot see them & you anticipate them when you know when they are coming.

We were also blessed with lower than normal temperatures & even a hard rain (that seemed to persist for the last 20 miles). The cooler weather was a much welcome reprieve from the usual roasting Oklahoma summer. I suspect if it were a "normal" summer day, there would have been plenty of people dropping as the heat climbed.

Once again, the "boundary" was set & through hard preparation, hard work, great support, faith that we would overcome & the acceptance to suffer, the boundary was shattered.

A big thanks to Brian & Kathy Hoover of Runner's World Tulsa & the TATURs for donating a portion of the race proceeds to Know No Boundaries.

God Bless & see you at the next boundary (Mother Road 100 - Part 3 maybe).

K2